Page 22 of Hayes

"You answered."

"I am not going to apologize." He had to smile at the defiance in her tone.

"I am the one who should be apologizing. I said what I did in anger and did not mean a word of it."

"I cannot be with you, Hayes."

Closing his eyes, he took a breath. "Still trying to protect me, Cammy? Who the hell gave you the right?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You damn well do. I just had an honest conversation with my mother. You were trying to protect me, were you? You decided on your damn own that leaving me was best for me—for us!" He tried to calm down. "You had no right–"

"I had every right!" she cried. "And blame her all you want, but your mother was right. She was protecting her son. She was protecting you."

"From what, for Christ's sake? Reporters salivating over the details? A few whispers here and there? It would have blown over."

"It started up again," she reminded him. "As soon as I came back home, the whispers started. Even your girlfriend could not help herself from mentioning it. I want it gone. I want my life back. I know things will never return to normal, but I want a life where people are not whispering about me–"

"And being with me is not going to accomplish that. I never figured you for being a coward."

"That's not going to work," she told him softly. "My mind is made up."

"Well let me 'unmake' it up for you. I am putting you on notice, my love. You are not slipping away from me again.

You don't get to make my decisions or decide what's best for me again. I am not letting you leave and darling, if you are thinking of leaving the country, remember that I am the CEO of one of the major airlines in the country. I will find you if I have to scour the ends of the earth to do so."

He waited while she remained silent. "Why?" she whispered.

"Because I cannot live without you," he told her simply. "I tried it, and it didn't work–"

"You will want children–"

"We will deal with that aspect when it's time."

"I cannot–"

"You can and you will," he told her implacably. "You said you needed time; I will give you a week–"

"I need more–"

"To do what exactly?"

"To sort things out. I have changed–"

"So have I," he told her firmly. "But one thing is certain. I am in love with you and that love is stronger than ever and I am not letting you go. Sleep on that."

Chapter 6

"He knows everything," she told her aunt quietly. She had stopped by on her way from the magazine when she was summoned. Camelia knew better than to ignore the demand to drop by, and frankly, the idea of being alone in her dreary little home was not appealing.

It was fast approaching fall, and the weather had changed. Rain had dispelled the last of the summer heat, and it had turned cold enough to drive them indoors.

Angela DeWinter was used to the finer things in life. She had not been as visible as her brother, but she had established herself as a patron of the arts and was comfortably wealthy. She had been married three times and decided firmly that it was three times too much for her.

She was also childless, something she did not regret. She loved her niece and had disdained the choice her brother had made when he married her mother. She had seen the destruction heading his way and had warned him against the nuptials, but he had not listened.

"How?" Waving her niece into the chair in front of the silk sofa she was reclining on, she waited for the explanation.